An elf door is a tiny door by the skirting board. It is where the elf lives, who gets up to mischief in your home in December. How it works
Log cabin in the snow
Not just a door but a whole house: log walls, a roof heavy with snow, icicles and a stack of firewood at the corner. The heart in the door glows, and it is easy to imagine the elf sitting inside by the fire, planning tonight's antics.
The cabin has a clear shape that is fun to cut out, and it looks good on a shelf or a chest of drawers as well as by the skirting board. Children who colour it in tend to have their own ideas about what colour an elf's house should be, which is all to the good.
Change the mat and sign
The door comes with its own mat and sign on the same sheet. You can change them, take them off, write your own words on the sign and choose a size: 9, 13 or 18 centimetres. Change this door
How to do it
Print on A4 at actual size, cut along the dashed line and put the door up with sticky tack by the skirting board. Do it on the evening of 30 November, and the elf has moved in by morning.
Accessories for the door: a lantern, parcels, a Christmas tree and more
